Berlin – IG Metall has presented its reform plan for pensions. “We are calling for a change in strategy in pension policy,” said Jörg Hofmann, President of IG Metall, on Wednesday in Berlin. “According to a recent survey, nearly two-thirds of workers are pessimistic about their retirement security. Even more and more people who have worked for many years can no longer live comfortably on their pensions in old age due to the reduction in pension levels, the raising of the retirement age, the increase in low incomes, and gaps in their work history. But that remains our goal: a sufficient income in old age! With our reform plan, we are showing how this can be achieved again,” Hofmann emphasized. “2.3 million IG Metall members of all ages expect our proposals to be seriously discussed.”
“To achieve the goal of adequate financial security in old age, the first step must be to halt the decline in pension levels,” explained Hans-Jürgen Urban, IG Metall’s executive board member responsible for social policy. The next step, he said, should be to link pension growth once again to wage and salary growth and, ultimately, to set a new, higher security target. The political fixation on contribution stability is outdated. Contributions must once again be oriented toward the benefit target. “For workers with gaps in their employment history, we also need solidarity-based measures to prevent poverty in old age, as well as measures to boost low incomes, contributions during long-term unemployment, and exemptions in basic income support,” said Urban.
IG Metall remains committed to developing the pension insurance system into a solidarity-based insurance system for the working population. “In our view, it is particularly important that solo self-employed individuals, civil servants, and members of parliament also contribute to old-age security,” explained Urban.
IG Metall also calls for a significantly wider adoption of occupational pension plans. “We therefore call for an occupational pension for everyone as supplementary coverage,” said Hofmann. “Better framework conditions must be created here for collective bargaining agreements.”
IG Metall also sees a need for reform regarding the retirement age and the transition to retirement. Raising the retirement age has forced many workers to accept reductions in their retirement benefits. While policymakers have made a correction here with the “retirement at 63” program, there is still a lack of tailored transition options. “We reject the idea that workers must continue working past retirement age just to maintain their standard of living,” Hofmann explained. “What is needed instead is to step up efforts to ensure that workers reach retirement age in good health and have secure transition options available to them,” Hofmann said.
The reform program proposed by IG Metall is to be financed on the basis of solidarity: societal tasks are to be funded through taxes in accordance with the system, all working people are to be included in the solidarity-based system, and the contribution rate is to be aligned with the benefit target.
